Client stories
What clients noticed after the meeting
These notes refer to particular engagements — documents prepared, deadlines faced, and the written output that followed. They are not ratings widgets.
Business Owner Advisory
“We came in ahead of selling a small shareholding. Eleanor walked us through the capital gains timing and where the proceeds should sit for twelve months. I still wish we had started the paperwork two months earlier — the HMRC deadline felt closer than expected — but the written note kept our accountant and solicitor aligned.”
Retirement Income Mapping
“The retirement mapping session forced us to put actual monthly spending on paper. Seeing which pension to draw first removed a lot of guesswork. We left with a schedule, not a sales pitch for a product.”
Tax Efficiency Review
“I needed a clear view of dividend versus salary before year-end. The tax review was brisk, specific, and the one-page briefing went straight to my accountant. No fluff about markets.”
Wealth Planning Consultation
“Our wealth planning consultation covered cash buffers, ISA room, and a looming inheritance in one afternoon. The follow-up note listed what to do this quarter and what to leave until after probate. It felt like a proper working session.”
Wealth Planning Consultation
“I was sceptical about another adviser meeting after a poor experience elsewhere. Westbridge asked for documents in advance and stuck to the agenda. The only reservation: video worked fine for the follow-up, but the first meeting was better face-to-face with the paper files open.”
Extended note
A Belfast share sale and the twelve-month cash question
A manufacturing director approached us eight weeks before completing a minority share sale. Capital gains timing was partly fixed by the buyer’s schedule; the open question was where sale proceeds should sit while the family decided on pension catch-up versus a property move.
In a Business Owner Advisory half-day we mapped the gain against the annual exempt amount, listed which wrappers could still accept contributions before 5 April, and wrote questions for the solicitor on escrow release dates. The client later said the mild frustration was starting late — not the advice itself.
Another engagement
A County Antrim couple within three years of stopping work brought four pension pots and a State Pension forecast. Retirement Income Mapping produced a year-by-year drawdown order that kept them inside basic-rate bands for the first five years of retirement, with an emergency cash buffer held outside ISAs.